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Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the ways that mothers’ groups and playgroups support families with children aged 0–5 years and foster community connectedness in newer residential communities in Perth, Western Australia. Background: The transition to parenthood is a time of increased support need. Changing community demography has resulted in a loss of traditional support structures and an increased need for local community initiatives to support families with young children. Design: A qualitative descriptive design was used for this initial phase of a mixed methods sequential exploratory study. Method: Data were collected between December 2011–August 2012. Interviews and focus groups conducted with 39 mothers provided insights from 16 mothers’ groups and 13 playgroups. In addition, interviews were undertaken with three child health nurses and four local government early childhood staff. Findings: For the participants in this study, mothers’ groups and playgroups provided opportunities to learn about parenting, to build a supportive network, to forge friendships and a connectedness to the local community. The families who relocated often experienced isolation until new groups and social networks were found. In general, where participation in mothers’ groups and playgroups facilitated relationships with others from the local community, connectedness to that community was reported by participants to be enhanced. Conclusion: Mothers’ groups and playgroups provide important community development opportunities and appear to help reduce potential isolation for mothers with young children. The findings are of interest to nurses and other health professionals working with families with young children.

Issue addressed The study aim was to investigate the relationships between social capital measures and playgroup participation in a local residential area for parents with children of playgroup age (1-4 years) compared ...

While it is generally recognised that early childhood programs play an important role in increasing positive outcomes for children, families and society, there is very little research on the Australian playgroup experience ...

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Curtin University would like to pay our respect to the indigenous members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth Campus is located, the Wadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie Campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.Watch our traditional Aboriginal welcome